January 22, 2016
2015 saw a number of significant developments in trade secrets law in response to increasing threats to U.S. trade secrets. The Obama Administration established a sanctions program authorizing penalties on foreign actors who engage in cyberattacks or commercial espionage, while the Department of Justice continued to prosecute several individuals for trade secret theft and cyber-espionage. On the legislative side, both the House of Representatives and the Senate renewed efforts to create a federal civil cause of action for the misappropriation of trade secrets. And in the civil realm, there were also further developments in several ongoing and high-profile civil litigation matters, including a Texas oil company’s abrupt dismissal of its billion-dollar trade secrets case against a Russian gas company after the defense accused the company of fabricating a key piece of evidence.
Jason Schwartz, Greta Williams, Benjamin Cassady and Mia Donnelly discuss these and other significant 2015 developments in trade secrets law in their article "2015 Trade Secrets Litigation Round-Up" published in BNA’s Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal in January 2016.
Reprinted with permission from BNA’s Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, 1/22/16. © 2016, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s lawyers are available to assist in addressing any questions you may have regarding the issues discussed in this update. Please contact the Gibson Dunn lawyer with whom you usually work or the authors:
Jason C. Schwartz – Washington, D.C. (202-955-8242, [email protected])
Greta B. Williams – Washington, D.C. (202-997-3745, [email protected])
Benjamin J. Cassady* – Washington, D.C. (202-955-8661,[email protected])
Mia Donnelly* – Washington, D.C. (202-955-8529, [email protected])
* Mr. Cassady and Ms. Donnelly are not yet admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and currently practice under the supervision of the Principals of the Firm.